Better Living Through Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

For a supposed guilty pleasure blogger, I don’t think I talk nearly enough about one of the most mind-frenchingly awesome pairings the world has ever known. No no, not Brad Pitt and Gwyneth PaltrowAngelina Jolie Jennifer Aniston. I’m talking:

Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

The master of this holy union, the mother of this ship, the queen bee to this hive, is, of course, none other than the:

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

Let us have a moment of silence to pay our respects to dairy farmer H.B. Reese (who invented this wonder in 1923), shall we?

…

Finders keepers, bee-atch. Photo credit: forumsextreme.com

…Much obliged. So, if you’re like me, you probably can’t recall the first time you tasted a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but they’ve always been your Numero Uno. Remember Halloween? What would it take to trade one of your Reese’s cups? That’s right. It would take nothing. Because ain’t nobody laying a finger on your Butterfinger Reese’s.

There’s a noticeable passion associated with Reese’s peanut butter cups. We don’t just like them. We love them. We don’t just nibble on a mini one and call it a day. Even those so-called ‘gourmet’ peanut butter cups never seem to stack up to the original.

When bigger is better. So, so, so much better.

Reese’s peanut butter cups are an intrinsic part of American culture. They’ve come up with plenty of variations over the last 20 years, and there’s a cup for what seems like every holiday. (Whether or not you just celebrated Easter, I hope you picked up some Reese’s eggs – it’s the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio.) There are t-shirts, magnets, even peanut butter cup-flavored lip balm stamped with the iconic Reese’s logo.

An internet search on Reese’s peanut butter cups brings up the corporate

website, and then hundreds of recipes. To me this is a simple sign that peanut butter and chocolate are welcome in any home, for any occasion. If that Reese’s pie didn’t win over your girlfriend’s parents? Heck, you didn’t want to be a part of that family anyway.

The evolution of the Reese’s peanut butter cup slogan is also indicative of their influence – and I can’t argue with any of them:

1970s-1980s: Two great tastes that taste great together.

1990s: There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.

2000s: Perfect.

Photo credit: pittnews.com

This year Reese’s peanut butter cups were the sponsor of NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. They’ve already been an official sponsor of the NCAA for 4 years running. You couldn’t get me to watch 2 minutes of the college basketball that was on a continuous loop in my house last month, but even I noticed the giant Reese’s logo on the court floor (and subsequently started salivating). I wondered how the players kept focus. Or maybe it was the perfect motivator.

***TODAY’S SPECIAL***

On this historic day, otherwise known as Wednesday, 19 of your favorite humor bloggers are staging a WordPress coup. We have banded together to address the important topic, Better Living Through Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Yes, you read that right. Your eyes are fine. Well, they may not be fine – I really don’t know. But it does say “19 of your favorite humor bloggers” (or who SHOULD be your favorite bloggers). We are all presenting the same topic, each from his or her particularly unique perspective.

Why this topic? Why now?

Why not?

Click on the bloggers’ links below to gobble up the entire, yummy bag of 19 posts.

Well, it looks as if I finally found someone who likes to eat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups just about as much as I do, but eat just the middle? My dear Ms. Jules, are you crazy? That kind of talk should be reserved strictly for the bedroom (in my opinion). You see, the Reese’s peanut butter cup is — not unlike myself — a little rough around the edges, and that slightly jaggedy texture, mixed with a little peanut butter, is really where one finds the true beauty of the peanut butter cup.

Deb, after I emailed you last night (mentioning my post was boring), I looked at the post again and was like, “Maybe I can save her, Doc!” That’s when I spiced up the bball pic. And I added the squirrel pic.

At some point soon after my younger sister became a mom, she morphed into Martha Stewart. I hadn’t really noticed the frightening transition until I asked her for ideas for C’s 4th birthday. (Her oldest is 6 months older than C so she had recently run the same gauntlet of birthday mania.) Upon the discussion of food, she suggested I serve fresh strawberries with creme fraiche (OK, a little over the top, but I’ll role with it….) and, wait for it….HOMEMADE peanut butter cups. That’s when I realized she hadn’t morphed into Martha but the devil himself. Such blasphemy spoken around a 4 year old’s birthday! There’s nothing that can compare to the original!

I DO feel special!! And that is hilarious. I really don’t know that I’ve had a better peanut butter cup than Reese’s brand. At Pizzaria Uno, they serve this GIANT cup, with an Oreo cake-like bottom, hot with vanilla ice cream. OMG. That might be even better than the Friendly’s peanut butter cup sundae.

Excellent post, Jules! Reese’s PB Cups have always been my favorite, too. I don’t know many people who don’t love them (or would admit to it, anyway–pariahs!). My sweetie gave me a Reese’s Peanut Butter Heart for VD. I’m pretty sure it’s OK to eat those in one sitting since it’s just the one piece. Right? Love the (annotated) photo!

You’re right — Reese’s is the perfect chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio! And you found a surprising amount of squirrels eating Reese’s. I just try to keep them from my birdseed, but now it appears I’ve got a new worry.

I like them frozen. Or at least very cold. There is just something about eating them hard. Wait . . . that sounded very “that’s what she said.” Unintentionally. You pretty much can’t go wrong with any variation or size of Reeses, though. And by the way, y’all and your posts are making me very hungry this early in the morning. I might have to take a break before I read any more until after lunch.

I LOVE the idea of basketball players being forced to publicly enjoy a peanut butter cup at the end of each quarter, during a time out, at the free-throw line… “Don’t you dare throw up. This is our sponsorship. You can have water later. Now smile and eat the damn snack.”

Thanks so much, and I’m glad you asked, Lenore! That is actually a picture I took at Target for Darla (She’s a Maineiac) back in Jan/Feb, because she didn’t know they made Reese’s hearts! (They make smaller ones, too.) We have ongoing dialogue about RPBC (ever since she vlogged about them for my guilty pleasure vlogging contest last year), LOL

I think in a past life I tried to marry H.B. He turned me down because he caught me eating Kit-Kats.

I think I may be the only one that doesn’t like the Reese’s eggs. For me, the ratio is off in the eggs. I prefer the mini-cups. I think it’s because I want a bit more chocolate than PB. Plus, they are the prefect size to just pop in your mouth and let melt on your tongue. It’s an exercise in restraint – see how long you can go before you just chew it up.

I realized too late that I did NOT properly plan for today (where’s a good professional organizer when you need one ;)) – I was reading all of these posts this morning WITHOUT any peanut butter cups! GAH!

I live here in the (i now know) deprived country of Australia. The christmas before last, on Boxing Day, we held a Boxing Day party where we invite friends to celebrate the escape from the family party on the day itself. At this party, two amazing things happened;
1) I went into labour with my son
2) I tried my first ever Reese’s Piece.
This was thanks to my friend from Tasmania (where they actually sell Reese’s) coming to said party.
My life changed that day….
I’m still undecided which event it was that did it.

I completely understand how the birth of your son and your first Reese’s encounter are on par with one another. If you can’t decide what actually changed your life more, ask yourself this: Can your SON be made into a delicious pie?

I have all the faith in the world that there is a way to get them in Australia. Or my name isn’t gojulesgo. (BTW, I honeymooned in Australia, and I wish I was still there! Even despite the lack of Reese’s!)

I remember my first Reese’s peanut butter cup. I was ten, and my aunt was visiting us (in South Africa) from New York. She brought Reese’s and Hershey’s Kisses. And I fell in love.
They’re not really sold in SA. But I make a plan…

I love the cups. Always my favorite Reese’s. But my favorite Reese’s memory (since you asked) involved the eggs. Every trip to the store as a preteen/teen had my mom grabbing a six-pack of the yummy holiday special. The best part? Between me, her and my brother the six-pack was gone before the car left the store’s parking lot. Reese’s overindulgence heaven, at least once a week from Mid-February to April. My mom even took to sending me care packages in college around Easter so we could still enjoy the treat together, in a way. Love my Reese’s.

Yes, it’s glorious. So glorious. I love getting Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for my birthday, which is coming up at the end of this month, and I have been CRAVING their p.b. cup cheesecake for WEEKS. I just have to hold out a little longer… :)

Seriously though, why does everything taste even better in a new shape. I’m a sucker for every holiday themed candy. I just bought easter sweet tarts on sale. Just because a couldn’t resist the chicks and bunnies.

That is music to my ears! And can you BELIEVE I forgot to mention in this post that I stenciled/monogrammed Reese’s peanut butter cups as wedding favors (for my own wedding)?! I used this edible pink stuff (my wedding colors were pink and brown), and it took DAYS to do 200+! I’ve been trying to find a picture of them…

The loves of my life, home made TollHouse Chocolate chip cookies, Reeses peanut butter anything and Oreo cookies! You can’t eat just one or two or three or four or………………….
Almost forgot to say congrat on being FP! So chocolaty peanut buttery deserved!

Hi Harold! Thank you so much, and you are a man after my own guilty pleasure heart! I absolutely LOVE homemade Tollhouse chocolate chip and Oreo cookies, too. Oreo pies are sometimes as amazing as p.b. cup pies. I made a mean Oreo pie for New Year’s Eve. (Oh yeah, partying it up with 2 other couples and a night of board games, booze and Oreo pie! Watch out for me!)

Wow, you lucky Americans. I don’t think I’ve seen anything other than the standard Cup and the Reese’s Pieces. And I do remember my first Peanut Butter Cup, but the experience was so intense that it short circuited all memory of the surrounding circumstances from my brain.

Suzy, that is definitely redeeming! LOL My husband has recently started buying Nutella and pb to make sandwiches (he has a long commute to work and has to plan ahead). I made the mistake of trying it myself, and now I have yet another guilty pleasure ;)

I guess I’m strange, because I’m not a huge fan of Reese’s pb cups or eggs. For some odd reason, the few times I’ve eaten them I’ve gotten a headache from them. Perhaps I’m allergic to something in them? I do love the little Reese’s pieces as much as ET does though!! (Congrats on your fortune cookie post being Freshly Pressed!)

Sprinkles! This comment made me gasp! But, if physical symptoms are a result of eating them, then, all is forgiven. I wonder what it might be… have you tried other brands of p.b. cups and had any problems?

OMG, Rache. Don’t even get me started on the PB cup sundae at Friendly’s! That is my all-time favorite dessert, and I’m not even a huge ice cream fan. Do you know you can microwave regular peanut butter, and pour it over vanilla ice cream, and you get a similar effect? That was a dangerous day, when I discovered that!